Trainee journalist at Cardiff JOMEC, English & German graduate from the University of Exeter, former editor of Exeposé student newspaper and winner of 'Best Interview' at the 2017 Student Publication Association national awards.

Court orders boss to pay worker for changing

A mechanic from western Germany is set to receive €350 in back payments – after claiming he should be paid for the time he spent showering and getting dressed for work.

When a mechanic from Oberhausen near Düsseldorf worked out it took him ten minutes a day to change into and out of his work clothes, he decided he should get paid for this time, reports Mittelbayerische Zeitung.

After an employment tribunal in the town of Oberhausen granted the man’s case in spring, his employers at the local bus operator appealed to the Düsseldorf employment tribunal.

On Monday, the court proposed a back payment of €350 – to cover the time the man had spent on daily outfit changes in his past seven months at work.

However, not content with getting paid to get changed, the mechanic also wanted payment for his ten-minute shower at the end of each working day.

The court rejected the claim as there were no clear precedents, the presiding judge said.

Both the mechanic and the Employers’ Association now have three weeks to appeal the court’s verdict.